Nobel Prize Goes to Green Chemistry
American Robert H. Grubbs, Richard R. Schrock and French Yves Chauvin have won the 2005 Nobel Prize for chemistry.
The Stockholm-based Nobel Foundation awarded the three chemists for “the development of the metathesis method in organic synthesis”.
Grubbs, 63, of the California Institute of Technology, Schrock, 60, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Chauvin, 74, of the Institut Francais du Petrole will share 10 million Swedish kronor ($1.29 million) award.
The Nobel winning scientists’ studies are based on “metathesis”, when chemical bonds are broken and reformed between carbon atoms in a way that causes the atom groups to change places.
The method discovered by Chauvin, Grubbs and Schork will usher in a new era for production of drugs and plastics that are more efficient and less harmful to nature.
“This represents a great step forward for ‘green chemistry,’ reducing potentially hazardous waste through smarter production,” the Nobel committee said. “Metathesis is an example of how important basic science has been applied for the benefit of man, society and the environment.”
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